The present invention relates to an apparatus for locking a recliner of a front seat in an automobile, and more particularly to such an apparatus for preventing the seat back of the front seat from being bent toward the rear seat when the rear of the automobile is impacted by an outer force such as a collision.
Generally, a front seat in an automobile has a recliner enabling control of the angle of the seat back. The recliner conforms to the posture of a driver and is important for the comfort of the driver.
When the rear part of the automobile is impacted by an outer force such as a rear end collision, the weight of the driver is directly transferred to the recliner supporting the seat back, and thereby the recliner can be damaged. This can cause a problem in that the seat back is bent toward the rear seat. Therefore, the driver, and especially the back of the driver, may be injured, and also a passenger, who takes the rear seat, may be injured by the seat back of the front seat.
Automobile manufacturers have generally adopted a reinforcement structure on the single recliner or to use both recliners instead of single recliner as prior art in order to prevent the recliners from being damaged. The recliner for controlling the angle of the seat back generally controls the angle by engaging an inside gear with an outside gear.
However, the recliner of the seat back should be slim because the space where the recliner is installed is limited. Given this limited space, it is difficult or not possible to arrange the inside gear and the outer gear so as to have strong resistance to collision forces in the structure of the recliner.
The present invention provides an apparatus for locking a recliner of a front seat in an automobile wherein when the rear part of the automobile is impacted by great outer force such as automobile crashing and then the weight of a passenger taking the front seat is transferred to the seat back, the recliner of the seat back is safely locked and is not bent back, and thereby the passenger can be protected from the impact generated by great outer force such as automobile crashing.
According to embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus for locking a recliner of a front seat in an automobile includes a supporting panel for supporting the back of a passenger. The supporting panel is preferably installed in the seat frame of the seat back. A sliding bar moves up and down, following a guide bracket installed in both ends of the seat frame. A spring elastically connects the sliding bar to the seat frame so that the sliding bar can elastically move. An upper gear bar is attached on the lower end of the sliding bar and is provided with gear teeth on the front end thereof. A lower gear bar connects both ends of the seat cushion frame, the lower gear bar having gear teeth following the longitudinal direction thereof and engaging with the gear teeth of the upper gear bar.
In an apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the rear part of the automobile is impacted by an outer force such as a rear end collision and the upper body of a passenger in the front seat presses into the seat back, the weight of the upper body is transferred to the sliding bar through the supporting panel built in the seat back. Further, the sliding bar presses the upper gear bar downwardly and thereby the gear teeth formed on the front end of the upper gear bar are engaged with the gear teeth of the lower gear bar which are arranged longitudinally under the upper gear bar.
Therefore, when most of the weight of the passenger is applied to the seat back in a collision, the upper gear bar is forcibly engaged with the lower gear bar and then the recliner is locked. Thereby, it can reliably prevent the seat back mounted on the front seat from being bent back.
A further preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a sliding bar disposed in a seat back for downward movement in response to impact forces transmitted thereto. An upper bar is attached to the sliding bar and extends downward therefrom. Locking members are formed on an end of the upper bar opposite the sliding bar, and a lower bar is attached to a seat bottom. Corresponding locking members are formed on the lower bar such that when the sliding bar is moved downward due to impact force, the upper bar locking members engage the lower bar locking members to lock the seat back with respect to the seat bottom. The locking members preferably comprise gear teeth.
A preferred embodiment may further comprise biasing means acting on the sliding bar to bias the bar upward towards an unlocked position in the absence of an impact force. A support panel also may be secured to an upper portion of the sliding bar.